Open letter to President Jonathan (1)

April 25, 2013 : Kola Ogundowole

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan | credits: File copy

Dear Mr. President,

Sometime ago, at the burial of the mother of a prominent Igbo politician, you were reported as saying that something was wrong with Nigeria. Yes, Mr. President, not just something, a lot is wrong with Nigeria.

I also absolve you; you are not the problem.

Wholeheartedly, I agree with you, a lot is wrong with Nigeria. As a matter of fact, Nigeria is a bunch of absurdities made up of sheer ignorance and bundles of lies which piled up on one another and constitute a climate of confusion. It all started long before 1914 which you mentioned in your short but incisive speech. The Berlin Conference on Africa, November 15, 1884 through February 26, 1885 is the departing point if we are to gain deeper and comprehensive knowledge of the entire problem. At that igneous conference called by Germany at the instance of Portugal and attended by the European powers of the period, it was only a large cotemporaneous map of Africa that was hung on the wall in the conference hall, which appeared to have “represented” Africa. With a long ruler and pencil, they drew lines across the map to determine what portion(s) of the continent go to whom amongst Germany, England (Britain), France, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, etc. Major beneficiaries however, were, England (Britain), France, Portugal, Belgium and Germany. The implications of what happened there were that people of same stock, clan and even family were split, bifurcated, and divided since they were shared out to different European powers. Thus, members of same family became strangers to one another, while strangers were herded together and called families and strange lands and thus foreigners became one amalgam country since crisis cross territories, lands of different peoples were thus forcibly amalgamated.

Therefore, the possession of a European power not infrequently consists of a variety of peoples who were strangers/foreigners to one another before the forcible share of the continent. While people hitherto of same stock were split among different European powers whence they became strangers/foreigners to one another. In some cases, members of same family were so affected and were deemed strangers. As a result, today, there exists borders where there should not be and there are none where there ought to be. The following story illustrates a people of same stock, nay, members of a nuclear family who colonialism ostensibly split/changed to become strangers to one another: A Wolof woman gave birth to four children, all males. As of age, the first said to his mother, he wished to be a farmer; therefore, he moved and settled in the arable area of Wolof land fulfilling his dreams. The second said to his mother that he wished to be a fresh water fisherman. Pursuant of his wish, he relocated within Wolof land to an area where rivers are in abundance. The third wished to be a net-weaver, he then moved and settled on the Atlantic Ocean coast line of Wolof land where he probably will have access to a huge number of customers. The last child relocated to the area of Wolof land which is rich in precious stones, since his desire was to become a precious stones merchant.

As they settled not long thereafter, Bismark, the first Chancellor of Unified Germany, through the initiative of Portugal, summoned the Berlin Conference on Africa. As the continent of Africa was being shared out among the European powers, Wolof land was split into four. The part where the first child chose as his farm land was allotted to Portugal (It is now along other territories it was merged with known as Guinea Bissau); the fresh water Wolof fisherman found his own part of Wolof land given to England and the territory, which was merged with strange others, became known as The Gambia today; the third child of the illustrious Wolof woman, the net-weaver and the entire part of the Wolof land to which he relocated forcibly became the possession of France, no thanks to the Berlin Conference. That part of Wolof territory and lands of others not known to him have the name Senegal today. The portion of the Wolof land settled on by the fourth male child who dreamt to become precious stones merchant was given to Germany and christened Mauritania after it was merged with other mutilated groups (later it became French possession after the defeat of Germany in the European induced First World War).

Therefore, Mr. President, you see how absurd it is having members of a nuclear family turned strangers and/or foreigners. This is the reality of colonialism in Africa. Their Wolof language, with time, began to disappear. The first male child of same mother became Portuguese-speaker/Guinean Bissau; the second became English-speaker and now identified as Gambian; the third is now Senegalese, a French-speaker. Finally, the fourth child of the same mother is today referred to as Mauritanian and speaks French and/ or Arabic. Brothers from the same womb made strangers/ foreigners to one another and their mother the Wolof mother can no longer communicate with her four sons. They are alienated from her completely. This is an aspect of the odd world colonial interlopers brought to bear on Africans.

The Wolof land as a political structure and the generated developed socio-cultural heritage and other attainments by specific human species being, the Wolof people, were made to disappear and the Wolof language in which all these were enveloped is fast evaporating. Archaic, it has almost become the notion “Wolof”. This is the oddity of contemporary African realties.

Similarly, travelling within the amalgamated Nigeria (over which you preside), the Yoruba land area of this amalgam, at a point not too far away from Agbadarigi, the English interlopers renamed it Badagary. There exists a border post (Seme border). As the Yoruba man crosses this border post heading for Ajase-Ile, which the French remained Port-Novo, the people this Yoruba traveller finds are the same people as those in Agbadarigi (Badagary) and or Eko (the Portuguese renamed it Lagos) and or in Ibadan. They greet the same way, speak the same tongue, eat the same food, dance the same tunes and pay homage to their Oba in the same way. At Ajase-ile, Oba Onikoyi Abesan V, the traditional ruler, relates to his subjects the same way Oba Babatunde Akran, Menu Toye, Agbadarigi (Badagary) relates to his subjects; just as Oba Rilwanu Akinolu relates to his subjects in Eko. The sameness of tradition and culture across the mentioned places is evidence of the sameness of the people inhabiting the stated area. The presence of the boundary and thus the border post at Seme is an affront to the territorial integrity of Yoruba land and an attempt to present the people of this area as not same, as strangers and foreigners, to one another which is not true. Howbeit, the realities of the area prove/demonstrate that the boundary/border not only is artificial and redundant in a sense and the attempt to present the people of same stock there as foreigners is a lie. The people of this area all claim Ile-Ife as their ancestral home; they believe they belong to the Oduduwa lineage, dynasty. Therefore, as we uphold the boundary and maintain the border post between people of same stock to insinuate that the people are foreigners to one another, we uphold/propagate lie as the truth.

You see, Mr. President, how odd and absurd the realties with which we live and mesh and teach to our children are! Definitely, something is wrong somewhere and everywhere all along these years. Our political shepherds till date have failed to notice the oddity and needed attention it deserves so as to find appropriate solution of that which is wrong.

A Mad Man and a hungry Man pls go and eat your fufu, I guess u will be ok. The problem of Nigeria is corruption period!

ewa

Please this is history. It sure has its place but it doesn’t justify / excuse massive corruption, lack of vision, and primitive selfcenteredness of our political actors / policy makers.

zee

Good writeupp,indeed a prof in philosophy.but what’s d point?

Cyborgs

Wonderful write up… Pointless though! No Offence but my personal opinion is, the writer wants federal recognition, perhaps he be made a minister or something in the future since he really failed to hammer the immediate problem of the country and profer a solution!

BB MID

in deed good write up, for student and any other group that need to know about history. sir don’t give a room for political failure, don’t let them have excuse to hide under. Nothing is wrong with Nigeria, Nigeria problem is nothing but CORRUPTION simple. if we find drug to this virus i bet you Nigeria will be a better place for me and you to live

Adeyemi

I wonder why some of us are condemning the writer that he didn’t make a point of the write-up when he clearly said that it continues. We may have to wait for the concluding part before we get the point.

Dr. Uche Kalu

The Lesson Prof. Ogundowole tried to impart here is all about divide , rule and
exploit of Africa by the European Colonialists.
Come to think about it,I am an Igbo with Efik,Ibibio and Igala (Akpa) ancestory.
With their Ogoja,Cross River and Rivers strategem during Biafran-Nigerian War,
Chief Awolowo and Mr.Yakubu Gowon dismembered Eastern Nigeria not merely
to unite Nigeria.You don’t united what don’t belong together.The war was for the
oil wealth of Eastern Nigeria.It is still the oil wealth of the Niger Delta that is keeping
Nigeria together.
The One-Nigerian parasites own the bulk of our oil industry because they won the
war.This is simply a case of conquer , pillage and dominate permanently.

Julius Oboh

The Prof is unable to diagnose what’s wrong with Nigeria in the lengthen write-up he has presented so far. On the other hand, diagnosing the nation’s problem, does not need such a lengthen essay. The problem of the Nigeria is the canker worm, called corruption which has eaten past the flesh and now eating the bone marrow of the nation. The bone marrow, doctors say, manufactures the red blood cells, necessary to maintain the amount of blood, a person needs in order to be alive. A person becomes anaemic and eventually dies if his bone marrow is eaten up by cancer. If the evil of corruption goes on unchecked as it’s at the moment, Nigeria will soon become anaemic and eventually cease to exist as a nation.

Cindy

My entire life changed few months ago when I attended Bishop Koleayo’s prophetic visitation service.
I was one of the people he called out and he prophesied to me that “by this time next month, I’ll be calling him from outside the country” and I will start flying abroad at least twice each month.
After the service, my friend that went with me to the prophetic visitation service asked me how possible can the prophecy be because I was just a tomatoes and fresh pepper seller in the market and a widow.
if you put all my tomatoes and pepper together, it cant be more than N15,000 and the Bishop is talking about flying abroad. Even my neighbors both at home and the ones that sells close to me at the market laughed at the prophecy when I told them about it.
But it happened! 3 weeks after the prophecy, I went to the market as usual to sell my tomatoes when a woman who came with one of her domestic staffs to buy food stuffs suddenly called my name after staring at me for some minutes as I was packaging the tomatoes she came to buy from me.
At first I didn’t recognize her but latter did when when she told me she was my best friend in secondary school back at Ilaje in Ondo state and we haven’t seen for close to 20 years. we lost contact when she traveled abroad after our secondary education. To make my testimony short, that was how I followed her to her house and I saw that she was very wealthy, she has shops both in Dubai and here in Nigeria.
I told her all my problems and she asked me to move in with my two kids my husband died and left for me into her mansion and within one week, she processed my traveling documents and I went with her to Dubai in her next trip.
Today, she no longer travels much, I do the traveling to China, Dubai, Paris and Italy to import goods for her shops and also do supply of my own.
Join me to thank the God of Bishop Koleayo

I visited Abuja for the first time last month and when I was being driven to the house of my younger sister that I was visiting, she and her husband started discoursing about Bishop Solomon Koleayo after we saw a bill board of the Bishop’s programme along the airport road. I was so interested in the gist that I asked more and what they told me was so interesting that I told them I was going to visit him to see things for my self before I go back to Australia. I visited the prophet in his beautiful office lol I can’t remember entering an office as beautiful as that in a long time. I waited till it got to my turn and I was asked by his staff to enter his main office and as soon as I entered his office, he told me I just came from Australia, I am just visiting Abuja for the first time, and that I was about divorcing my wife. He warned me not to divorce her because it’s her grace that has been covering me and that if I do, the enemies would have space to enter into my life to destroy me, that I should forget relocating back to Nigeria for now and I am having problems because I am fighting with my wife and womanizing. I was so shocked, and dumbfounded because I hadn’t seen anything like that before.

I never believed in seers and spiritualism. I that went there just to see the young bishop they’ve been gossiping about just to while away time and see things for myself but as soon as the bishop downloaded my life to me without I even saying a word, I just feel to the ground and laid myself to the ground in his office and begging him to pray for me.

Things where difficult for me in Sydney with I almost losing my house and I was contemplating relocating to Nigeria to start a new life, things have normalized for me, I have paid all my debts and I have a good job and investment now.

Brethren, It’s only a fool that wouldn’t believe in God and his prophets.

-Ugo Chukwurah

When i heard about what God does with Bishop Koleayo in Abuja, I had to visit him because i needed serious prayers for protection because many attempts had been made on my life both spiritually and physically.Some of my political opponents wanted me
dead.
Few weeks after i visited Bishop Koleayo, i drove into my compound after the days work. As soon as i entered my bed room, i heard gun shot sounds inside my compound & before i could think of what was going on, i heard some men shouting in my sitting room, where is chief? where is chief? It then dawn on me that as i drove in, the men whom i latter discovered where assassins drove behind me, entered my compound after me & shot my security man at the gate six times and my driver who was also outside four times before entering my sitting room where they met my wife, kids & others living with me. They just asked everyone they met at the sitting room to lie down & was asking for me in particular. I had just stepped into the house & went to my bed room to freshen up when i heard the gun shot sounds outside.
I first thought they where armed robbers as it’s was becoming a usual thing around our area at that time but i was confused on what to do as i was hearing them shouting & asking after me.
I quickly opened my ward robe where i kept the anointed water & as i was anointing my forehead with it, two of the men kicked my bed room door open with riffles in their
hands, i was so afraid & confused that i fell on my bed thinking i had died but i was surprised & i am still surprise because i was on top of the bed
looking at the two hefty men carrying sophisticated weapons scattering my bed room in search for me. they opened my wardrobe & checked under my bed but didn’t see me that was on the bed looking at them. I was invisible to them. I could see them clearly but they didn’t see me.
That was how they left.
I have heard of miracles but i never knew it works this way.
Thank you so much Bishop.
-Chief Efosa, Benin City.

I kept hearing my niece Bukky who came in from Nigeria 4 months ago talking about the prophet to her friends but I wasn’t interested because I didn’t believe in prophets & so called spiritualism but as time goes on, I noticed things where just working out for her, barely within 4 months, she’s got a Job, started a big business, got a car & someone to marry her & I that has been here in America for 8 years had no serious man of my own, no job, & things where generally difficult for me.
When I noticed doors I had tried opening severally without luck gets opened for Bukky without stress, I had 2 humble myself to call Bukky who I’m 16 years older than to ask her of her secret & she told me it was Apostle Solomon Koleayo she visited in Abuja-Nigeria before she made her trip, I begged her f or the Prophet’s contact which she gave me, I called the prophet who prayed for me & sent me the anointed water which I used as instructed & doors began to open 4 me miraculously. People that were owing me that refused paying me before began to call me to beg & pay me, calls started pouring in from places they promised me jobs before…am so happy as am planning my wedding now!
All I can say now is thank God for connecting me with the prophet.
-Ibironke, Atlanta Georgia USA

I had this stubborn cough that defiled all medications.
I became so thin like an HIV/AIDS patient that every family member & loved ones deserted me so they will not contract the cough.
I couldn’t eat, drink water or do anything. I had gone to the best of hospitals both home and abroad, fasted, prayed, visited witch/wizard doctors, magic mallams and all manner of spiritual places but all to no avail.
I was alone in my 3 bed room house planning to commit suicide by drinkng poison when I heard the voice of Apostle Solomon Koleayo over the radio speaking about my case as if it was me he was talking about, I called the numbers of the church immediately & “The Prophet’s Anointed Water” was sent to me via a courier service the next day & immediately I got it, I added it to a glass of drinking water, drank it & immediately, the cough disappeared! I couldn’t believe it myself because I used to have some doubts about miracles because I was a stunch muslim but this confirms to me that miracles are real and there is God in Jesus name.
-N.Pet from Nasarawa Nigeria.

I visited Abuja for the first time last month and when I was being driven to the house of my younger sister that I was visiting, she and her husband started discoursing about Bishop Solomon Koleayo after we saw a bill board of the Bishop’s programme along the airport road. I was so interested in the gist that I asked more and what they told me was so interesting that I told them I was going to visit him to see things for my self before I go back to Australia. I visited the prophet in his beautiful office lol I can’t remember entering an office as beautiful as that in a long time. I waited till it got to my turn and I was asked by his staff to enter his main office and as soon as I entered his office, he told me I just came from Australia, I am just visiting Abuja for the first time, and that I was about divorcing my wife. He warned me not to divorce her because it’s her grace that has been covering me and that if I do, the enemies would have space to enter into my life to destroy me, that I should forget relocating back to Nigeria for now and I am having problems because I am fighting with my wife and womanizing. I was so shocked, and dumbfounded because I hadn’t seen anything like that before.

I never believed in seers and spiritualism. I that went there just to see the young bishop they’ve been gossiping about just to while away time and see things for myself but as soon as the bishop downloaded my life to me without I even saying a word, I just feel to the ground and laid myself to the ground in his office and begging him to pray for me.

Things where difficult for me in Sydney with I almost losing my house and I was contemplating relocating to Nigeria to start a new life, things have normalized for me, I have paid all my debts and I have a good job and investment now.

Brethren, It’s only a fool that wouldn’t believe in God and his prophets.

When we heard of the Bishop, we decided to fly to Abuja to attend his prophetic services & also to see him because i needed a touch, deliverance & healing but couldn’t meet him one on one because he just drove to the venue of the meeting, preached & left. We were told he was rushing to the airport to catch a flight.
I was disappointed because three of us had to fly in from Warri but we couldn’t see him.
I was paralyzed. It started three nights after my wedding, i dreamt that a lady was cutting my legs with a cutlass & when i woke up that morning, i started feeling pains on my legs & couldn’t walk again. We went to hospitals both here in Nigeria & abroad but nothing could be done.
We even went to almost all the seasoned prophets in Nigeria but my case defiled them all.
I knew my case was spiritual because i kept seeing the lady in my dreams laughing at me & vowing to me that i will never walk again but i’ll die a mysrable death.
When Bishop came into the prophetic meeting, he just preached for few minutes, prophesied generally & asked all of us to raise up our bottled water so he could bless the water & because we hadn’t attended such service before, we didn’t come with water so my causine who came with me had to rush outside to buy a bottled water but she didn’t get bottled, so she bought sachet water & i raised up my pure water as the Bishop prayed.He finished praying & said we should drink it by 12 midnight same day & our problems are solved & he left.
I was surprised because i was expecting him to touch us. But he never layed hands on anyone except people where just falling under the anointing as he was singing worship, he didn’t touch the water. He just spoke & left.
Honestly, i wasn’t happy as we were flying back to Warri because i felt nothing had been done because other pastors i had visited in the past would shout & speak in tongues for hours but the Bishop didn’t do all that. He was so soft & calm.
To make my testimony short, i drank the water by 12 midnight reluctantly & i slept. It was like a dream when i woke up in the morning & i was calling at my causine to bring something for me.
She heard me but pretended she didn’t hear me because all of them were tired of me. I was a burden to everyone as they carry me everywhere including the toilet. I was angry & i felt like standing up to walk. I was surprised myself when i stood up & began to walk. My sister that was in the sitting room watching TV was shocked to see me walked to her.
Indeed, Bishop Solomon Koleayo is God’s angel.i will forever be grateful to you sir.
-Onome. Warri, Delta State-Nigeria

I met bishop when I was the manager of an hotel he lodged sometime ago.
I climbed downstairs from my office to find him complaining to the receptionist that the Air-conditioner in his room wasn’t working properly & he had called them on the intercom phone severally but nothing was being done since he checked in.
I quickly intervened by having to first apologize to him & promised I was going to ensure the maintenance guy fixes it asap. He smiled & was climbing upstairs back to his room when he suddenly stopped, turned and called me!
He started prophesying to me and all the revelations he told me of my past were accurate as if he had known me all my life.
I had just gotten the 3rd job in 5 months after my wedding.
Before my wedding, I was one of the managers of a popular (if not the biggest) hotel in Abuja, Nigeria & I was doing well, I had an official residence, a car, driver etc until I went for my wedding in my village.
Immediately I returned, I was handed a suspension letter which latter tuned to a sack letter without any pay. I was accused of embezzling some company’s fund which I knew nothing about.
I couldn’t even feed my new wife who had just graduated from school & yet to get a job..Things went upside down for me that at some point. Honestly, I even contemplated committing suicide.
After some months, I got jobs in Hotels which doesn’t take 3 weeks before the owners gets displeased with my services for no reason & they gets me sacked without pay.
I was at the 3rd job in 5 months when the bishop showed up in my life.
He prayed for me and revealed that there was a lady I dated for 8 years which I promised marriage but didn’t marry her when I was ready because of her wayward lifestyle which is true,
bishop went further to reveal that the lady went to a shrine somewhere to do some charms to destroy me, my finances & to make sure my marriage to another person ends in shame.
bishop prayed for me and promised me that there would be all-round turn around in 24 hours and true to his words, by 9:15am the next day, I received a call from the General Manager of the 1st Hotel where I worked & was sacked without pay.
He called to tell me that the management would want to have a meeting with me immediately,
I called the bishop immediately who had already checked out and was at the airport flying to Lagos to preach but he prayed for me over the phone and asked me to go.
I went there immediately; I met with all the management staffs including the Chairman of the Hotel who hardly stays in Nigeria. They started by apologizing to me that they were sorry, that someone who wanted to replace me framed me up but they have discovered the truth and they want me back because since I left, a lot of fraud has been taking place.
I told them I wasn’t coming back and they begged me not to sue them to court for tarnishing my image because after the incident, they went publishing with my photographs in major news papers in the country that I defrauded the Hotel and no one should deal with me on behalf of the Hotel.
After the meeting, I was handed a cheque of 35 million as compensation.
Today, I am now a proud owner of my own Hotel and God is opening more business doors for me daily.
Praise the Lord!!
Thank you so so much bishop Solomon Koleayo.
Sir, you’re indeed a man of, and from God.
-Bro.Oluwaseun from Abuja, Nigeria.

I had this stubborn cough that defiled all medications.
I became so thin like an HIV/AIDS patient that every family member & loved ones deserted me so they will not contract the cough.
I couldn’t eat, drink water or do anything. I had gone to the best of hospitals both home and abroad, fasted, prayed, visited witch/wizard doctors, magic mallams and all manner of spiritual places but all to no avail.
I was alone in my 3 bed room house planning to commit suicide by drinkng poison when I heard the voice of Apostle Solomon Koleayo over the radio speaking about my case as if it was me he was talking about, I called the numbers of the church immediately & “The Prophet’s Anointed Water” was sent to me via a courier service the next day & immediately I got it, I added it to a glass of drinking water, drank it & immediately, the cough disappeared! I couldn’t believe it myself because I used to have some doubts about miracles because I was a stunch muslim but this confirms to me that miracles are real and there is God in Jesus name.
-N.Pet from Nasarawa Nigeria.

I kept hearing my niece Bukky who came in from Nigeria 4 months ago talking about the prophet to her friends but I wasn’t interested because I didn’t believe in prophets & so called spiritualism but as time goes on, I noticed things where just working out for her, barely within 4 months, she’s got a Job, started a big business, got a car & someone to marry her & I that has been here in America for 8 years had no serious man of my own, no job, & things where generally difficult for me.
When I noticed doors I had tried opening severally without luck gets opened for Bukky without stress, I had 2 humble myself to call Bukky who I’m 16 years older than to ask her of her secret & she told me it was Apostle Solomon Koleayo she visited in Abuja-Nigeria before she made her trip, I begged her f or the Prophet’s contact which she gave me, I called the prophet who prayed for me & sent me the anointed water which I used as instructed & doors began to open 4 me miraculously. People that were owing me that refused paying me before began to call me to beg & pay me, calls started pouring in from places they promised me jobs before…am so happy as am planning my wedding now!
All I can say now is thank God for connecting me with the prophet.
-Ibironke, Atlanta Georgia USA

Hey guys…
It is a fact that corruption is a big problem in Nigeria, massive corruption for that matter!
However, the point from the write-up is that there are deeper divisions that have made persons professing ‘one Nigeria’ to pursue different agenda. Nigeria should ought to accept a Sovereign National Conference of ‘nationalities’ which will re-structure the country. This will, more profoundly, settle scores and unite people that otherwise were separated arbitrarily to suit colonial masters. Nigeria is not a multicultural society in the lines of that espoused by Australia. Every person that wants to become Australian must pledge to uphold ‘Australian values?’ for example, accept English as the national language and must show that he can speak the language at acceptable level before becoming Australian. Nigeria is made up of differing Nations forced together by amalgamation for ease of administration. The point is that , if this is accepted as true (and it is!), we must take steps to address the anomaly. It is possible to remain loosely bonded together with defined ‘multi-NATIONal values and purpose’ In this way, ‘…people of same stock…’ as the Prof noted will not be made strangers because it is perceived as conveneint for colonial merchants.
Another point is that we must not be afraid of really separating totally to form different nations ‘bound in ancestry'; for that’s true nationhood. I am hoping to read the next/concluding part from the Prof.
WE MUST BE BOLD TO TAKE DECIVIE ACTIONS TO SAVE PEOPLES OF NIGERIA, AND AFRICA!!!

Spokesperson for the Senate Unity Forum, Senator Kabir Marafa, saying his colleagues passed a vote of confidence in Dr. Bukola Saraki’s senate leadership in order to spite President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress leadership.